Dale Desruisseaux now eyes Canada’s biggest race

By Steve Buffery

Wandering into barn nine in the Woodbine backstretch this week, a reporter was asked by a blacksmith working in one of the stalls if he needed some help locating someone.

“I’m looking for Dale Desruisseaux,” came the reply.

After issuing directions, the blacksmith made a good-natured crack about Desruisseaux’s hairline, prompting smiles from a couple of other workers in the barn. If everyone seems to be in good spirits in barn nine these days, there’s a very good reason for that.

Last Sunday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack was an absolute monster day for Desruisseaux and his stable. Without hyperbole, the best single day of his career.

“Definitely a big day,” said Desruisseaux, “though I was a little disappointed not winning the Woodbine Oaks. But both fillies ran good and the one ran second and I can’t really complain too much.”

How did Sunday unfold for Desruisseaux? It all started with Highwaytothemoon – guided by regular jockey Rafael Hernande -   out-dueling the Harold Ladouceur-trained longshot Imyourmedicineman to capture the $200,000 Plate Trial Stakes for owner Centennial Farm (Niagara) Inc. – a performance that clearly established the son of Ransom The Moon-High Society Gal as one of the favorites to win the King’s Plate on Aug. 15.

After the Plate Trial came the $750,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Stella Artois – Canada’s top race for three-year-old fillies. The Desruisseaux-conditioned Dixie Law ran second to a very impressive Josie Carroll-trained Luster, even though Dixie Law and her stablemate, Piper’s Gift, who ended up finishing fifth, seemed to interfere with each other in the first turn.

After that came the Grade 2 $175,000 Connaught Cup for three-year-olds and up with Desruisseaux’s six-year-old gelding GT Five Hundred, a 32-1 longshot, putting together a remarkable performance to win, with Jose Campos aboard, for Centennial Farms (Niagara) Inc.

Highwaytothemoon’s performance, especially, has tongues wagging at Woodbine with many speculating that he just might be THE favorite to win the Plate. If all goes to plan, Highwaytothemoon with be Desruisseaux’s first entry into Canada’s most prestigious horse race.

“That’s probably the next step for him,” said Desruisseaux, who admitted to be a bit surprised that Highwaytothemoon handled the 1 1/8^th mile distance in the Plate Trial so well even though he won the Queenston Stakes on June 7 in his previous race. The Queenston, however, was only over seven furlongs.

“We were very, very hesitant on the distance (in the Plate Trial),” said Desruisseaux. “After the Queenston I said, ‘We’re probably not going to go to the Plate Trial just because I don’t think he’ll get the two turns.’ But he breezed really well in the interim and there really wasn’t any other option for him here (at Woodbine) so it’s either go to the States against the top American-breds or you take your chances on the distance and go against Canadian-bred horses so we opted for the Plate Trial.”

A decision that certainly paid off. Desruisseaux said he is still sitting on the fence as to whether Dixie Law will be entered in the King’s Plate. (Piper’s Gift won’t be).

“You only really have one chance to go to the Plate and it doesn’t look to be the toughest group of boys this year, so we’ll see,” said the Grimsby, ON native who lives on the family farm in Smithville with his wife Jeanette and kids Dawson and Daynica. “Just running in it is huge. I don’t want to go to that race with a 50-1 shot just to say I’m in the King’s Plate. So, whether I’m going with one or two that have legitimate chances of hitting the board is pretty exciting.”

What’s also exciting has been Desruisseaux’s rise as a trainer at Canada’s biggest thoroughbred track. Starting off as a fulltime conditioner less than a decade ago, Desruisseaux enjoyed a breakout season at Woodbine in 2025, finishing seventh in the trainer standings with 22 victories in 115 starts with earnings of $1,082,256. This year has been even better. Desruisseaux currently sits fourth in the trainer ladder with 12 wins, nine seconds and eight thirds in 70 starts and leads the Woodbine trainer colony with six stakes scores.

“You have to stay modest,” said Desruisseaux when asked about his success this year. “If you walk around with your chest out, then it can backfire pretty quick. You have to keep your head down and keep working. There were a lot of lean years and you don’t really make money on the day to day in this business. So, days like (last Sunday) really mean a lot. I’m just enjoying the ride.”

Even though Desruisseaux’s dad Allen is a thoroughbred trainer, moving into the Sport of Kings was no sure-thing for Dale.

“Honestly, I really didn’t want to (make horse racing a career),” he said. “After I was done with high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. My parents always had a couple horses they ran at Fort Erie on the weekends as a hobby. My dad had a factory job and my mom was pretty much the horse girl. I was running a pizza shop for a guy just outside of my hometown and he said, ‘Why don’t you open up your own pizza shop? You’re pretty much running mine.’ So that’s what I did.”

When he was 18, Desruisseaux sold his pizza place, went to college for a year with an eye of becoming a police officer and then, one summer, found his way back at Fort Erie.

“I needed to make a living and after I sold the pizza shop, I had a little bit of money and bought a yearling and worked for somebody and the rest is kind of history,” he said.

One thing Desruisseaux has learned in the horse racing game is not to get too high or too low, even after an incredible day like last Sunday.

“You have to stay in that middle ground,” he said. “But I’m pretty happy. We’re halfway through the year and hopefully this year can continue the way it started. I’ve never taken a string (of horses) away for the winter, I’m thinking about taking a string away this winter. That will help with the clientele I believe – they’ll say that you’re fulltime and year-round. We’ll see how that works out and hopefully next year come back with some quality stock as well.”

Desruisseaux says his goals as a trainer are fairly simple and waved aside the suggestion that he was now one of the "elite" trainers at Woodbine.

“Personally, I want to be happy and have a good quality group of people working for me and a good quality group of horses that we can make the most for the owners. Whether that’s 10 horses, 20 or 40, at the end of the day I want to go home and think I did a good job,” he said.